The present invention relates to systems and methods for splitting wood into smaller pieces for use as firewood and, more specifically, to such systems and methods that use a motorized wedge to split wood rounds into firewood.
Wood is often burned as a heat source and in many situations is burned to create an enhanced ambiance. Most people who have the desire to burn wood do not have a ready source of logs or the equipment or time to saw the logs into rounds and/or split the rounds into firewood. Accordingly, firewood is commonly sawn and split at one location and then sold by the cord (usually delivered) or smaller quantity to the end user.
Motorized systems have long been used to reduce the amount of effort required to split wood rounds into firewood. Conventional motorized wood splitters typically comprise a horizontal or vertical I-beam having a hydraulic actuator securely mounted on one end and a small stop member mounted on the other end. The hydraulic actuator is connected to a wedge member, and extension and retraction of the hydraulic actuator extends the wedge member towards and away from the stop member. Typically, a guide track is provided for the wedge member.
The wood round to be split, or workpiece, is placed on its side on the I-beam against the stop member. The actuator is energized to force the wedge member into the workpiece and split the wood into separate pieces.
Conventional motorized wood splitters do not define a clear work surface on which the workpiece is placed. In addition, the I-beam is very close to the ground, requiring the operator to bend over almost continuously while working. The proximity of the I-beam and any guide track for the wedge member significantly interfere with placement of the workpiece in a desired orientation on the wood splitter. Even then, the placement of the curved outer surface of the wood round on the flat upper surface of the I-beam is inherently unstable.
Commonly, the split pieces fall to the ground after each split and must be lifted back onto the I-beam if smaller pieces are desired. This can prematurely fatigue the operator and slow down the splitting process.
In addition, the wedge surfaces of the wedge member face the operator. If the workpiece should spring apart suddenly when split, the split pieces may eject towards the operator, and conventional wood splitters do not protect the operator from the ejected split pieces.
The use of an undersized work surface also encourages the operator to prop the workpiece by hand on the work surface while the split is being made; conventional wood splitter systems thus encourage the operator to take risks while splitting the wood.
Conventional wood splitter systems typically use a gasoline engine. Typically, engines in the range of five to twelve horsepower are used because of inefficiencies in the system for carrying the wedge. Inefficiencies include binding, which is the inability of wedge to freely rotate if splitting through spiraling, and non-straight wood grains and long travel times due to mis-dimensioning. Gasoline engines are loud and emit fumes; prolonged exposure to the noise and fumes created by gasoline engines can create operator fatigue or possibly even illness.
The wedges of conventional wood splitters are typically operated at a fairly high speed because of the distance that the wedge member is required to travel during splitting. These relatively high speeds increase the likelihood of injury to the operator by direct engagement with the moving wedge member or by a moving piece of wood thrown off during the splitting process.
In addition, the relatively long slide distance of conventional wood splitters encourages undersawing and/or undersplitting of the wood rounds, resulting in finished product that is too large in length and/or girth for many woodburning appliances.
Conventional wood splitter systems thus eliminate the need to drive a wedge through wood by hand to split a wood round into firewood but create a host of problems that make this process inconvenient at best. The inconveniences associated with conventional wood splitter systems result in the operator attempting to minimize the splitting process by sawing the wood rounds too long and/or undersplitting the wood rounds. A significant amount of the final firewood product that is created using conventional wood splitter systems is thus not properly sized and dimensioned for practical use in conventional woodburning appliances. At the same time, the operator is being subjected to considerable annoyance and inefficiencies due to the limitations and non-ergonomic nature of the machine. The operator is also subjected to significant health hazards as discussed above.
The present invention is a wood splitter comprising a support structure, a table assembly, a ram assembly, and wedge member, and a control means. The support structure supports the table assembly. The control system energizes the ram assembly to force the wedge towards the table assembly. A workpiece is placed on the table assembly such that the wedge engages and splits the workpiece.